(Photo: Hailey Rogalski/WCSN)
Over the last two seasons, arguably No. 13 Arizona State Hockey’s most glaring weaknesses was an inability to win all-important road games. With only five away series on the schedule for this year, these struggles — which resulted in a 9-22-1 record away from Tempe over the last two campaigns — can’t continue if the Sun Devils are to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2020.
But against Miami (OH) (4-1) in its first road game of this season, an old problem reared its ugly head again, as the RedHawks overcame a three-goal deficit in the third before defeating ASU (4-1) 5-4 in overtime.
The Sun Devils controlled the pace of play for most of the night, but nearly eight minutes into the final regulation period, a desperation surge kicked in for Miami. When senior forward PJ Fletcher finished off a feed from the former Sun Devil Teddy Lagerbäck to make it a 4-2 game, things began to unravel for ASU, with junior defenseman Ty Murchison taking a hooking penalty five-and-a-half minutes later.
Junior forward Raimonds Vitolins made the Sun Devils pay just over a minute into the Murchison minor, burying a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle. With under a minute to play and graduate goaltender Logan Neaton on the bench for an extra attacker, sophomore forward William Hallén took advantage of being unmarked in the slot and tapped in a pass from Vitolins to tie the game at four.
It didn’t take long for the RedHawks to ice the game in extra time, as sophomore forward John Waldron lit the lamp for the second time of the game a mere 21 seconds after the overtime period kicked off.
Despite a sour ending, things looked much more promising for the Sun Devils straight out of the gate. Senior forward Dylan Jackson forced a Miami turnover in the defensive zone before finding his brother Ty in the high slot with ample space. Jackson took full advantage of his time, wristing a perfectly placed shot past Neaton.
This quick strike would be a sign of things to come — at least temporarily. Through the first two periods, ASU outshot the RedHawks 25-22 and often capitalized on the hosts’ sloppy play to create high-danger scoring chances.
However, both teams entered the first intermission knotted up at one thanks to sophomore blueliner Axel Kumlin putting home a rebound halfway through the opening frame.
The Jackson brothers struck again early in the second period, both picking up assists on an impressive goal by senior forward Lukas Sillinger. After receiving a pass from Dylan Jackson while gliding into the offensive zone, the Regina, Saskatchewan native found a shooting lane and, despite Lagerbäck standing in his way, found twine to put the visitors up 2-1.
Another group of forwards that has looked strong through four games is ASU’s fourth line, which consists of seniors Benji Eckerle and Ryan O’Reilly along with freshman Kyle Smolen. This line came through again with under ten in the second period on Friday, as Smolen put home a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot — a difficult look to convert on for a right-handed shooter.
Coming into Friday, ASU’s productive power play headlined an overall dominant showing on special teams in the early going of this season, and this sentiment held against the RedHawks. After squandering its first opportunity in the second, the Sun Devils cashed in during its next go-around just over six minutes into the third period.
As ASU entered the offensive zone with time winding down on the man advantage, freshman defenseman Anthony Dowd received a pass at the blue line before pulling off a nifty between-the-legs deke to get by his defender. Now right in front of the net, Dowd dished the puck across the crease for graduate forward Alex Young, who made no mistake on the easy tap-in.
While the Sun Devils were outscored 4-0 during the final eight minutes of the game and junior netminder TJ Semptimphelter allowed five goals on 28 shots — good for a .848 save percentage — he certainly played better than the stats indicate. His rebound control and patience when facing shooters were once again on full display, as the New Jersey native staved off several of Miami’s high-danger scoring chances to keep his team ahead for most of the game.
ASU will play for a series split and pick up a crucial first road win of the season on Saturday, with puck drop slated for 4:05 pm PST.
